On February 3, Kong beat Dutch player Trinko Keen 3-0, giving China a 2-0 lead in the International Challenge Series. In the other exhibition single match, Li Nan defeated teammate Zhang Yingying 2-0.
Before the match, Kong was not familiar with Keen's game. "I have never played Keen in a formal match, but when I was playing in the German league, he was my teammate, so we played some practice matches. That was over 2 years ago", Kong said.
The match was not as exciting as the one between Liu Guoliang and Saive. Keen, who had arrived only the previous day, was bothered by jet-lag, and did not get into good playing shape. Kong won the first game easily at 21-12. Keen played better in the second game, and was ahead 15-10, but the experienced Kong made the adjustments and caught up at 17-all. Then he took the next 4 points to win at 21-17. The third game held no surprises, and Kong quickly won at 21-14. In less than 30 minutes, Kong picked up a 3-0 victory.
After the match, Kong told reporters that his shoulder is much better now. In the match he was able to aggressively attack, and his forehand felt normal again. Because of this match, his team postponed some of the league games. From Febrary 6 through 24, Kong will play in 4 league games, against the strongest teams in the Chinese super league. As the number one player on his team, Kong will face great pressure, and this will also be a severe test for his injured shoulder. To make sure that Kong does not hurt his shoulder further, Cai is sending a team doctor to accompany Kong in these matches. During training and after matches, Kong will be receiving massage treatments on his shoulder.
Another mission for Kong to accomplish this month is to decide on his racket and sponge. In the match against Keen, Kong was using a new sponge. Kong said that before the closed training begins in late February, he will finalize on his racket and sponge choices to make sure that the training will be effective.
Next up: Liu Guozheng vs Schalger on February 17 in China.
(For photos of the Kong-Keen match, click here. More photos here. Nice suit on Cai! For those who like to know what the players use, click here for photos of Li Nan's and Zhang Yingying's racket. Li uses Yasaka/Stiga 5-ply racket, with DHS G-777 on forehand, and Butterfly rubber on backhand. Zhang uses Stiga 7-ply racket, with Friendship 802 on forehand, and Butterfly rubber on backhand.)
On February 3, 7 pm, Wang and his 3 teammates wil leave for London to play in the English Open. The Mr. Pro-Tour had just suffered his first defeat in the Chinese league in over 4 months.
Wang's Shanghai team lost to the Shandong team 2-3 on February 3. Wang lost to Liu Guozheng in the key single match. He and Feng Zhe barely won over Liu Guozheng/Zhang Yong in doubles. In the deciding 5th set, Wang lost to Zhang 4-5 (whoever player reaches 5 points first wins in the 5th set).
In 1999, Wang won the Pro Tour Grand Final, and then lost league games that he should have won. This time, despite the loss, Wang appeared calm and confident, and was able to summarize why he lost. He seems to be stronger mentally.
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